WAC-9 STUDENT PAPER AND POSTER COMPETITIONS

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HISTORY OF THE COMPETITION

The WACSC Writing Competition was first organised during the 6th World Archaeological Congress in Dublin, Ireland in 2008. Initially, prizes were awarded for the Best Paper and Best Poster with a runner-up for each category. After that, a paper competition has been held regularly. During the WAC-7 congress, WACSC introduced a poster competition and awarded one winner.

The WAC Student Paper and Poster Competitions, as part of the activities developed by the WAC Student Committee (WACSC), aims to showcase original student research as an integral part of WAC and the future of the discipline of archaeology. The competition is aimed at recognising and drawing attention to the important work of students in archaeology presented at WAC-9 in Prague. The purpose of these competitions is to recognise students for their critical work and original research. Providing this opportunity acknowledges the value of emerging scholars as an integral part of WAC and the future of the discipline of archaeology. While these competitions are purely conference events rather than a writing/publication competition, they present an exciting opportunity to revitalise and generate new interest in the annual student writing competition.

The WAC Student Paper and Poster Competitions will recognise the best paper and poster presented by a student at WAC-9 in Prague. All student members of WAC who plan to present a paper or a poster at WAC-9 are eligible to submit their work for consideration, on condition that their abstracts have been accepted by the Local Organising Committee.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

It is important that all submissions made for both competitions adhere to the stated submission requirements to prevent disqualification.

  • All candidates submitting a paper must be WAC Student Members.
  • Only previously unpublished papers will be accepted for the Competition and the paper cannot be sent for publishing during the Competition.
  • Student applicants must either be the single author or the first author of the paper or poster.
  • Each paper submitted for the competition, in order to maintain consistency, must be written in English, double-spaced, with standard 1.5 margins, 12-point Times New Romans font, and be 15-25 pages in length (including references cited and figures). Posters submitted must also be in English.
  • The paper should fit the themes and format of the Archaeologies journal, as described on the Springer Publications website.

Submissions must be sent to studentswac@gmail.com, with a subject of the email titled ‘WAC-9 Student Paper and Poster Competitions’. Deadline for submissions is 01 July 2022.

CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION

Submitted papers and posters will be evaluated in two stages. First, all entries will be evaluated by a team of WACSC members who shall select finalist entries (maximum of 2 per competition) based on the following criteria:

  • The quality and depth of scholarship and arguments presented;
  • The significance of contribution to understanding of a particular topic in archaeology;
  • The relevance to the larger goals and interests of WAC; and
  • The effectiveness of presentation (including clarity and adherence to format, originality, and aesthetic appeal in the case of posters).

The second stage of evaluation will be based on the final version of the paper and poster submitted to WACSC digitally (e.g. via email) prior to the conference. During this stage, the team of WACSC members will create a schedule to ensure that a minimum of three judges attend the selected paper or poster presentations at the conference. The selected judges will work with an Archaeologies Editor and a WAC Officer to provide an advisory role in the final evaluation process. The author(s) of the selected papers and posters will be notified prior to the conference that their work will be considered for an award at the conference.

PRIZES

The winners of each competition will be recognised at the WAC-9 Congress and will be awarded a certificate. In addition, winners will be provided with a 4-year WAC membership and an opportunity to submit a paper to Archaeologies.

About oluseyiagbelusi

I am currently a Ph.D. student in anthropology with a concentration in Archaeology at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, United States of America. I hold a B.A in archaeology from the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria and an MSc in Conservation Studies from the University College London (Qatar Campus). My region of interest is West Africa where I have participated in numerous archaeological research and conservation projects. I have conducted fieldwork on several sites across south-western Nigeria and on Tasso Island in Sierra Leone. I have also participated in a number of excavations and conservation projects in the Mediterranean Basin, the Arab and Islamic World, and recently in the Caribbean. My research interests include African archaeology, the African Diaspora, culture contact and change, colonialism, cultural heritage law, and archaeological conservation. My interest in African archaeology and Africa’s intersection with the Atlantic world is what led me to apply for the doctoral program at Syracuse University. I am currently developing a dissertation project focusing on the early colonial period archaeology of Sierra Leone and completed initial fieldwork in 2018.